Driver circuits using bipolar junction transistors have been used to drive electrical loads in the past. However, such bipolar junction transistor-based driver circuits cannot effectively be used to drive loads requiring high currents of 2 amperes or more. Driver circuits capable of driving inductive and resistive loads with high current requirements are required in a variety of industrial applications, including electronically controlled heavy machinery. The term "high side" driver circuit is indicative of a circuit which drives a load by sourcing a current from an electrical energy source, such as a battery, to the load. It is also desirable to provide diagnostic output information from driver circuits, which diagnostic output information may be utilized by a digital controller. For example, such diagnostic output information is particularly desirable for detecting fault conditions such as a short circuit condition or an open circuit condition.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems as set forth above.